The Shaman Fight: START!
by Hoshi wo Tsuki
Summary: As the fights continue, the gang'll find out more about themselves and eachother as they fight it out for the title of Shaman King/Queen. T for language. HxOC RxOC Slight LxOcxR if you squint
1. Chapter 1 What do you think?

Part two of my three-part fanfiction.

The Shaman Fight: START!

And I'll TRY to stop it with the late updates, so here we go! And since this is chapter 1 of the new fic, I'm gonna skip the recap. So let's go!

Disclaimer: I don't own the title, "Shaman King," nor am I with any manga/anime companies in anyway. Though I do own a couple characters, so I DO own them. All characters I didn't make go to their respected owner, Takei Hiroyki-sensei.

* * *

Finally.

After all this time thy could finally start fighting for their titles.

Though the atmosphere had changed, the actual contenders didn't.

Except for the one's in the first fight. In which, Anna was torturing both her fiance and that poor short-tempered Tao, with Manta, Horo Horo, Ryu, and Tamao looking at them with worried yet confident eyes.

Diana and Lyserg were discussing strategy in her room. Which caught the crimson eyes of a certain silver-haired saint-like girl, who decided to go out for a while.

"Yoh-kun's medium is that sword of his, Harusame. And Ren-kun's is that Kwan Do of his." Lyserg explained.

"Of course sometimes its that sword that he showed Silva three days ago." Diana told him. "So if we take away them both, he won't be able to Over Soul."

"Same with Yoh-kun, but it'll be pretty hard." Diana wrote all of what they were saying, and jotting down some ideas.

"That's true. Yoh-san's strong. And with that training Anna-san's putting him through, We'll be lucky to even get ANYTHING around those weapons."

"That's true."

"YOH! SWING HARDER! YOUR ARMS AREN'T NOODLES!" Anna yelled.

"But this fight'll be hard since we're going up against Lyserg and Diana!" He yelled back.

"AW! How sweet! He's worried about us!" Diana said jokingly, with her hand on her chest. Lyserg smiled and chuckled at this.

"That's Yoh-kun for you. Always thinking of others."

Her gaze softened a bit when she saw who Yoh was sparring against. Her hand rested on her lap. Her face just the very slightest, almost unnoticeably red. But Lyserg was able to detect it.

"He's great. Ren-kun, I mean."

"Yeah. He is." She replied. "He works really hard, and he's really dedicated to this tournament." She continued. "He truely want's to be Shaman King, huh?"

"Yes. That's what everyone says. But it doesn't sound nearly as sweet when YOU say it." He told her. Only thin did she tear her gaze from the Tao, and rest a look of surprise on her dowser partner.

"NOW what are ya gettin' at?" He smiled a bit more.

"That you like Ren-kun." Her blush now more noticeable. "Looks like I was right once again."

"Oh yeah? Well I happen to know that you like Jeanne-san, Lyserg-san." She countered. The boy's cheeks turned a soft red, while hers returned to normal.

"Now how'd you know that, Detective Diana-san?" She brought her knees to her chest.

"Oh, please! It doesn't take a genius to know that you were annoyed when Marco-san perched Jeanne-san on his shoulder." She told him, poking at his chest. His cheeks a shade darker, with the bridge of his nose red too. She rested her elbows on her knees, letting her hands dangle lazily in front. Her eyes on the wall opposite of her bed.

"So." She started. Her face a little solemn, and Lyserg's face returned to normal. "Do you think that Hao and Elen really should be together?" She asked. Lyserg started to stare at the wall as well.

"So you were listening."

"Yeah. No matter how many times she tries to deny it, Elen really IS in love with Hao."

"And Hao definitely feels the same way." Diana grabbled her elbows, and buried her face in them. "You two were really close, huh?"

"She's my sister after all. We only had eachother in that household." Lyserg put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"I wish I could relate to any of this."

"Yeah. Your father didn't commit suicide when you were 5, and your mother didn't beat you until you finally ran away." She lifted her head. "Your family was most likely really close and loving. They were probably shaman as well."

"Yeah. They were." He said. "My dream is to be a great detective like my father. I was so inspired by his dowsing abilities, and I wanted to be like him."

"How grand." Diana said. She stuck a proud nose in the air, smiling. "I'm not really all that fixated on this, but I think I'd like to be a doctor when I'm older, and help those who get hurt anywhere in life. Kinda like Faust-san."

"How grand." Lyserg repeated. Diana giggled a bit, and Lyserg returned the small laugh.

* * *

"Alright, you two are done." Anna announced. Yoh collapsed from the exhaustion of the fight. While Ren could still stand, but was panting heavily.

"What was the point in all of this anyway, Anna?" Ren asked.

"So that you can understand eachothers moves better." She replied. "You did well, Ren. But Yoh!"

"Yes, Anna?"

"You need to fight more seriously! Even if it's Lyserg and Diana that you're facing tomorrow, you can't slack off! This is the Shaman Fight! And you need to defeat any opponent in your way of being Shaman King!" She ranted.

"Hai." Yoh replied weakly.

Ren huffed, and started walking to the boarding house for milk. But not before a quick glance to Diana's window. Seeing her smiling face, he turned his eyes back to the building, and walked on.

"Ren-kun seems to be acting strange lately." Manta told the other three.

"Strange how?" Horo Horo asked.

"More worried about something." Manta continued. "Especially after the announcement of their first fight."

"Yeah, I've noticed that too." Ryu commented.

"I wonder what's eating Ren-san." Tamao said.

"Maybe we should go investigate?" Tokagero suggested.

"Sounds like fun, Tokage!"

"Stop shortening my name, damn it!"

"We probably shouldn't" Manta countered.

They agreed.

"On the other hand, if we don't help Ren-san with his worries, he won't be able to fight as well tomorrow." Tamao explained, uncharacteristically being a little devious.

"Oh. True, Tamao. I liked this side of you." Horo Horo said. Tamao went a little red in the face. Ryu slung his sword over his shoulder as he stood.

"Well, let's go!"

"I guess I'm defeated." Manta admitted, and hurried to catch up with his friends.

* * *

Yoh lied on his back, just staring up at the 1/4 mile-high top of the cavern. He thought of what has been happening the past couple weeks. With Diana and Elen, what they all found out, their mother, Elen's choker she got from Hao.....

That's what struck him the most about Elen.

_"Spirit of Fire!" He called. The collar around Elen's neck started to glow a vibrant red. Much to everyone's surprise._

Yoh had the feeling that Elen was more than just a comrade to Hao.

_'Is she also his medium?'_ He thought.

"I was wondering when you would catch on to that." Hao suddenly said behind Yoh. The younger one was unfazed.

"Why is it that you always show up like that?" Yoh asked.

"I like to do it. It's actually pretty fun." Hao told him. "You wanted to talk to me, right?"

"Yeah." Yoh sat up, while Hao sat down in front of his brother. "So Elen's really your medium, huh?"

"Not exactly. I only made the choker on her neck the medium. But I needed someplace where the enemy wouldn't dare to destroy it."

"Is that the reason why you wanted her as your comrade?"

"Partly." Hao replied. "I was also interested in that heart of hers."

"Heart?" Yoh repeated. Hao's smile got a little wider.

"Her heart's in the right place, that's true. But how it's been abused all her life, that's different."

They both stayed silent for a moment.

"So how long have you been watching over her before you decided to make your move?" Yoh suddenly asked.

"It was still during the Shaman Fight, I can tell you that."

"Then why didn't you ask her then?"

"I was waiting until her powers were at there peak. At least for a while. Then I would help her."

"With the Chou Senji Ryakketsu?" Yoh asked. In return, he heard a chuckle from Hao.

"No, in fact." Yoh gave him a surprised look.

"What?! But you said that you would help her!"

"I did." Yoh was confused this time. "I'm sure that you noticed my spirits size? How it's smaller than when you first saw it?"

_Hao's spirit, now about half of it's size from the beginning, appeared._

"Yeah. And considering what Diana's spirit's size is, and that they're twins, I'm sure that they were of equal size of eachother."

"That's correct." Hao replied. "The twin's spirits were of equal size, since they only fed them the souls of the already dead around this town. But they were also quite small. That's why I gave her spirit half of my own's power. Since they're both of equal class. In fact, she doesn't really even NEED the Chou Senji Ryakketsu."

"Amazing!" Yoh gaped.

"Yes. But the twin's strategies for winning are actually effective."

"Then that means I have almost no chance at winning the fight if Diana has that kind of power." Yoh whined, with tears flowing from his eyes.

"That would be very deadly. Mainly because of Anna." Hao said. If possible, Yoh was crying even more. After a few minutes of silence, Yoh and Hao were being quiet again. Just sitting there. "You have one last question." Hao said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah." Yoh replied. "What are your real intentions with Elen?" He asked. Hao chuckled softly again.

"Well, with the way I act around her, it should've been quite obvious." Hao told his brother. "But if you're really that dense....." He started. Yoh, was watching with eager eyes. "I plan on making her my own Shaman Queen. Whether either one of us wins this tournament or not."

* * *

I'M BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So how'd you guys like it? So far, It's goin' well with writing it on a piece of paper in the real world. And I really hope that I won't get any writers block along the way. (Of course I'm skipping the writings to somewhere in the late-teen numbers, so that my mind'll actually focus on the task at hand!)

Oh, and just so ya know, I'm planning to have a 2 chapter before each fight thing, so the fights'll be every 3rd chapter.

So, like always.

Please read, review, send ideas, and send to friends!

I'll come back soon! Bye!


	2. Chapter 2 'San? 'Kun? Beliefs?

OK, guys. This is chapter two of part two of my SF saga.

And I'm barely passing 8th grade, so wish me luck on my schoolwork so that I can pass and move to high school!

BTW, I'm thinking of just using quotes for this one, so if you like the idea, I'll keep it. If not, then I'll drop it.

Enjoy!

Recap:

_"NOW what are ya gettin' at?" He smiled a bit more._

_"That you like Ren-kun." Her blush now more noticeable. "Looks like I was right once again."_

_"You need to fight more seriously! Even if it's Lyserg and Diana that you're facing tomorrow, you can't slack off! This is the Shaman Fight! And you need to defeat any opponent in your way of being Shaman King!" She ranted._

_"Ren-kun seems to be acting strange lately." Manta told the other three._

_"Strange how?" Horo Horo asked._

_"More worried about something." Manta continued. "Especially after the announcement of their first fight."_

_Elen's choker she got from Hao....._

_That's what struck him the most about Elen._

"Spirit of Fire!" He called. The collar around Elen's neck started to glow a vibrant red. Much to everyone's surprise.

_Yoh had the feeling that Elen was more than just a comrade to Hao._

'Is she also his medium?'_ He thought._

_"I plan on making her my own Shaman Queen. Whether either one of us wins this tournament or not."_

Disclaimer: I don't own the title, "Shaman King," nor am I with any manga/anime companies in anyway. Though I do own a couple characters, so I DO own them. All characters I didn't make go to their respected owner, Takei Hiroyki-sensei.

* * *

"Elen? Is that you?"

"Yes, Father David. It's been a while, hasn't it?" Elen calmly and politely replied.

Elen had arrived at a small church, about a mile down the street. She came upon her old friend, Father David, who was the caretaker of the church. Which she tried to keep secret from Diana.

"Over a year, actually."

"Almost two."

"Yes." Father David noticed the thin, polite smile on Elen's lips, causing him to smile even more. "That's the first smile I've seen from you in five years." He said. Her smile widened just a bit.

"Yes. It is." She told him.

"Perhaps it's because of your demon mothers arrest?"

"Well that is one."

"Or perhaps....." Father David's smile turned a bit mischievous. "you found someone to love even more than your sister?"

Her face turned a bit red.

"And how did you come up with that insane logic?" She asked in the most polite way possible.

"Well when I last saw you smile, it was more of a forced smile. This one is more true and genuine, and has a hint of a pure emotion I haven't seen on your face before." Her face got a bit more red.

"Jeeze! What is with people lately?!" She asked more to herself. "I'm not in love with him!"

"So there IS someone?" He asked. She turned her head away.

"Well there is ONE boy everyone's been teasing me about. But seriously! He's just a friend to me."

"'Everyone'? You mean you've made friends other than me?" He asked. Her face finally returning to normal.

"Well I have made a few more friends." She told him. "But I don't hang around them as much as my sister does."

"Well I'm just happy to know that you're doing better. Did you want to go pray again?" Elen nodded curtly, and Father David made no arguments. He opened the doors, and Elen walked inside. "But it does look like you're in love." Elen just barely heard that, and just walked. Blushing slightly again at the statement.

The inside of the church wasn't much. Ten pews on either side of a crimson carpeted aisle. Big enough for three people to sit on each bench. The walls and the floor were stone, and painted white. The windows were colorful, with mosaics of Jesus and the Virgin Mary with-in them. The alter didn't have much. A few cut flowers, a podium, a big Celtic Cross hanging on the wall, a modest-sized organ, and some candles waiting to be lit.

About half-way down, Elen heard the doors shut, and concluded that Father David trusted her enough to be alone for a while. Elen made her way up the short steps of the alter, and was surprised at what she saw.

"Jeanne-san? What are you doin' here?" She asked with a bit less politeness as when she was with Father David.

Jeanne was kneeling in front of the Celtic Cross, hands clasped. But she broke her concentration when Elen called to her.

"Oh, Elen. I didn't expect to meet you here." She told her. Jeanne stood, and turned to her.

"I came here on occasions when I was living in this town." Elen told her. "I'm friends with Father David."

"Oh, I met him. He seems lovely." She flashed an angelic smile, and Elen gave her a soft smile in return.

"So what were ya prayin' for, if you don't mind me askin'." The smile on Jeanne's face lost, her head slightly downward.

"To ask God to protect Lyserg."

"So right now we're in the same boat, huh?" Jeanne's head snapped into place. "I mean with wanting that team to win, or at least be safe tomorrow." Elen walked over to Jeanne's side, and knelled before the Cross as well. "Truth be told, I'm not all that religious. Never thought of convertin'. I come here to reassure myself and collect my thoughts."

"That seems like a worthy cause." Jeanne told her. Elen smiled a bit more.

"And ya don't have to be ashamed of what ya pray ta God. He won't judge anyone on what'cha pray for, and neither will anyone else for that matter. It just means that you have a really good relationship with Lyserg-san. So are ya done? If not, why don't we pray together?"

Jeanne nodded, and started praying with her new-found friend, unaware of gentle eyes watching the pair fondly.

'I'm really happy that you've opened up, Elen. And with what you've been through, people might mistake you for a saint sent from God Almighty.'

* * *

At the boarding house:

Manta, Tamao, Horo Horo and Ryu sat at the eating table. After about ten minutes of spying on Ren, they had heard something very interesting to them.

"I wonder what that was all about.'' Manta pondered.

"Who knows?" Horo Horo took a sip of his drink.

"Maybe we should just ask Ren directly?" Tamao suggested.

"But what if we accidentally tell him that we were spying on him?" Ryu asked.

"That's true, Ryu-san." Manta agreed.

They sat there.

And sat.

In silence.

Until they heard someone running down stairs, and turned into the eating room.

The four looked at the entrance, and saw a pissed off Ren, huffing from the run.

"W-what's wong, Ren?" Horo Horo asked nervously.

"My room's a mess, and I can only think of one person who could've done something like that." Ren pointed his kwon-do to the Ainu.

"W-wait! Why do you automatically accuse me?!" Horo Horo asked.

"The others don't have the guts. And even if they did they would put everything back the way they found it." His hair growing considerably.

"Horo Horo-kun?! You went into Ren-kun's room and snooped around?!" Manta yelled.

"Well I was just as worried as you guys were!" Horo Horo shut his trap.

"CHUUKA ZANMAI! CHUUKA ZANMAI! CHUUKA ZANMAI!......." (It continues like this.) Horo Horo trying to dodge every thing, while trying to explain without success.

That's about when Diana came in.

With two emotions evident on her face.

Anger and annoyance.

"NOW what the Hell're they fightin' about?!" She asked harshly.

"If you knew, Diana-chan, you would kill them." Ryu said.

"LIKE **HELL** I WOULD!" She stepped in front of Ren, and skillfully pulled out his kwon-do from Ren's hand, and stomped it two times on the floor to get their full attention. "NOW WHAT THE HELL'S GOIN' ON HERE! HORO HORO-SAN?! REN-KUN?!"

(Confused? Don't be.)

* * *

_Six minutes ago:_

_Ryu, Horo Horo, Tamao and Manta were watching Ren._

_So far, he's only gotten milk, and walked up the stairs as casually as he would've any other day._

_Though his steps seemed a bit off._

_Just so happens that Diana and Lyserg were done with their meeting, and walking out of Diana's room smiling, saying that they were ready._

_"Just make sure that you're not too over confident." Lyserg reminded._

_"Don't worry, Lyserg-san! I got this!" Diana giggled a bit, and Lyserg returned it before heading towards his own respective room._

'She hasn't called anyone by their names without 'San' after it except for Hao or her sisters.'_ Was running through the Tao's mind at the time._

_After waving good-bye to her partner, Diana turned to go downstairs, but accidentally crashed into someone. She quickly stepped back._

_"Sorry. I wasn't lookin' forward." Diana spouted out._

_"It's OK." Ren said. Her face turned the slightest bit red._

_"Oh, Ren-san. I didn't know you were here." She said, kind of embarrassed at the sudden encounter._

_Meanwhile, the four were hiding behind a corner, away from the pair, but close enough to hear what they were saying._

_"I actually didn't expect to see you come out of your room just now." He replied. He was searching frantically for something to talk about instead of being in this uncomfortable silence. Then he said, out of the blue, "Why don't you call anyone something besides 'san'?" He asked. A surprised look on her face._

_"W-well." She started. "I don't really feel completely close to anyone right now, so, yeah." She told him. Ren started to blush a bit, looking into those green eyes._

_"Well." He coughed a bit. "If you want, you could call me something other than 'Ren-san.' Like 'Ren-kun' or just 'Ren.'" He told her. The heir was baffled at what he just said. Diana blushed a bit harder, and tried desperately to keep her heart rate down with futile attempts._

_"O-OK, Ren-sa......" She caught herself. "Ren-kun." It sounded nice to her._

_"Hey guys, I'm going to get something from my room." Horo Horo whispered. But they were a bit too busy waiting to see if there would be any more development. When there wasn't, the Ainu left, and the rest went downstairs. Ren walked down the hall, past his room, and went to the balcony to drink his milk. Diana went downstairs, and turned to go see Faust and ask him something. And Horo Horo meanwhile was sifting through Ren's things._

* * *

And here we go!

Interesting, right? I hope so.

Anyway..............

Please read, review, send ideas and send to friends.

CYA NEXT TIME!

* * *

Edit:

I forgot to mention:

With things goin' on with the couples in this story, I DO wanna have Pirika fall in love. (Is an avid RenPiri fan.) So I wanna hear from you who her ideal guy is. (All I want is his first name and personality. But loving nature is a required trait. And please make him be Sara's bro.)

Template:

_________ Avalon

Likes:

Dislikes:

Personality:

So good luck, and I'll hear from ya'll soon! Bye!


	3. Chapter 3 Ren & Yoh VS Diana & Lyserg

Now's the time for the first battle of the Shaman Fight! I really hope I do a good job on this. And there'll be a few changes in how Diana and Elen fight. Yes, their point shoes are still their mediums, but I decided that they should have some kind of weapon. (And just a warning: I fucking hell SUCK at describing battle scenes.)

SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, HERE WE GO!

Recap:

_"You need to fight more seriously! Even if it's Lyserg and Diana that you're facing tomorrow, you can't slack off! This is the Shaman Fight! And you need to defeat any opponent in your way of being Shaman King!" She ranted._

_"So what were ya prayin' for, if ya don't mind me askin'." The smile on Jeanne's face lost, her head slightly downward._

_"To ask God to protect Lyserg."_

_"So right now we're in the same boat, huh?" Jeanne's head snapped into place. "I mean with wanting that team to win, or at least be safe tomorrow."_

_"And ya don't have to be ashamed of what ya pray ta God. He won't judge anyone on what'cha pray for, and neither will anyone else for that matter. It just means that you have a really good relationship with Lyserg-san."_

_"If you want, you could call me something other than 'Ren-san.' Like 'Ren-kun' or just 'Ren.'" He told her._

_"O-OK, Ren-sa..." She caught herself. "Ren-kun." It sounded nice to her._

Disclaimer: I don't own the title, "Shaman King," nor am I with any manga/anime companies in anyway. Though I do own a couple characters, so I DO own them. All characters I didn't make go to their respected owner, Takei Hiroyki-sensei.

* * *

"You ready, Diana?" Lyserg asked through the door.

"Just give me one more minute, Lyserg-san." Diana said.

The first of the fights was today.

Yoh and Ren VS. Diana and Lyserg.

After one last tug on her sash of her battle outfit, and her waist-length blond hair in a tight high ponytail with it's usual white headband, she was ready.

"Sorry for the wait." Diana said when she stepped out of her room.

A white Chinese dress was hugging her body, making her curves just a bit more noticeable. Gold threads lined the V-shaped collar then down to meet with the side seam. The sleeves flowed just a couple inches past her finger tips, and a white sash was tied around her waist. The skirt reached to mid-thigh, with the gold threads lining the slit on the right side and around the hem, with white shorts underneath with her white point shoes strapped around. A sword was tied to the sash, and a Yin-Yang choker with a white band hugged her neck.

Lyserg smiled. "Don't worry. We have five minutes." He said, starting to walk out of the building

"Good. I don't wanna be late for my first fight for the title." Keeping up with him.

"You and me both." Lyserg told her. "By the way...the outfit?" He implied.

"Oh. Well we didn't call our team in the real Shaman Fight "Yin-Yang" for nothin'!" She said.

"Ah! Who was your last partner anyway?"

"A Chinese girl named Mai Ao Long." She said. "She had a really strong spirit who knew what she was doin'."

"Understandable."

"By the way." Diana suddenly said, stopping in her tracks. Lyserg looked behind, and saw her.

"Yes." He asked curiously.

"Promise me...that ya won't be upset if we loose. Ok?" He smiled, and placed a hand on her shoulder. Flinching for a brief second.

"The only reason I entered this fight was to destroy Hao. But I already did that last year. At least for a while. I have no real drive to continue this fight anymore other than to help someone else." He smiled ever-so gently, and they continued walking.

The clearing was replaced with a circular stage, about 100 ft. in diameter and 4 ft. in height with stairs. The two teams stood on either side of the stage, with Silva in the middle. Everyone else was dotted around the stage, waiting for the fight to start.

Everyone except three people.

"Nee, Elen?" Hao called.

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure you don't want to go?"

Elen put the sleeping Alexa in her crib, and sat next to him on her bed.

"Diana proved that she can survive without me. Now it's time to prove if she can fight without me." She said. "And I also don't wanna have Alexa exposed to as much violence as we did." She felt her friend's arms wrapping around her tiny body. Pulling her to his own body.

"I'm starting to wonder who the saint is around here." He said. She blushed, and buried her face in his chest. But not hugging him back.

"But aren't'cha gonna see Yoh-san fight? He IS your brother after all." She felt Hao's hand stroking her hair.

"I'd rather stay here any day."

And he held her tighter.

Closer.

Like she could get up and leave, and never be seen or heard from again.

One could've sworn that Hao's cloak started to get a little wet, and a little moaning could be heard, out of joy and sorrow.

But maybe that was only your ears playing tricks on you.

_"That's because she still needs to be supported a bit herself."_

"The fight between team Yoh and Ren and team Diana and Lyserg will now begin! The rules are the following:

One person must be able to Over Soul and fight. However, even if you have enough furyoku, if the Over Soul is disabled, even once, the person who's Over Soul it belonged to is disqualified.

And killing or having someone in near-death is prohibited from this fight. If that happens, then that team will be disqualified." Silva said.

_'Where's Elen?'_ Diana asked herself. She glanced over to Ren, in his own Chinese-style battle outfit, and blushed ever so slightly. Lyserg leaned over to her.

"You know take Ren, and I'll take Yoh, k?" Lyserg whispered. Diana nodded.

She took out her sword - more like just a handle - and a blade made entirely of wind appeared. Lyserg Oversouled with Morphine. And the other two got their own respective Oversouls out. Though Yoh only used Harusame, and Ren used his own sword.

"Ready? FIGHT!"

Lyserg darted his pendulum to his left towards Yoh. Who quickly blocked it from hitting him.

Diana darted to her right towards Ren as he ran to her, and their swords collided. For being completely made of wind, the blade was pretty stable.

Lyserg retracted his wire so that it was out of reach, and made a net of the wire to imprison Yoh. Who, in turn, squirmed out of the wire's grasp.

Diana and Ren were still where they were. Teeth clenched, blades together, not moving an inch. Seeming like they were testing eachother's physical capabilities. Which, at this point, were proven to be basically the same.

_'Not getting us anywhere.'_ Ren thought. He back flipped, and sheathed his sword into the ground, producing many weapons coming out of the ground and coming after her. She would've been impaled if the wind didn't lift her from the ground. She jumped to the side of the path, readying herself for another attack.

Lyserg's pendulum followed Yoh as he tried evading the attacks. He lifted his sword up, and used "_Amidaryū: Shinkuu Buddha-giri_." The wire got a little frayed, but was still usable.

"So you guys are using the divide and concur strategy, eh?" Yoh asked with that lazy grin of his. Impressing Diana abit.

"Pretty calculating for your lazy demeanor." She mused out loud.

Her mistake.

Ren took the distraction to his advantage, and slashed her sleeve and skirt. In turn, she fell down. His sword resting just two centimeters from her throat.

_'Damn it all!_

"She has 274,000 furyoku left. From her original 500,000." Hao put his left glove back on. "Why is it that you have more furyoku anyway?" He asked.

"Mother hated me the most because I was the oldest. So as a result, I was beaten more than Diana." She said to Hao. Elen's face darkened, and she shuttered at the vivid memories that replayed through her mind. The man traced a finger across a long, yet barely see-able scar on her left hand.

"I promise you this: That woman won't be able to touch you at all." He vowed. "As long as I'm alive." She blushed, and looked into those mesmerizing brown eyes. Her eyes just slightly red. He cupped her right cheek, and she let her head lean into her friend's hand.

"Arigato, gozaimasu, Hao." She smiled a smile that could only be seen if you looked so hard.

_'Get up, damn you!'_ Diana cursed to herself. Her sword faltered just a bit. She seemed to be forced to look at the golden eyes that belonged to the boy she likes.

'_Move legs! Try to kick him! Arm, try slashing him!'_ Those were the thoughts that were occurring in her head right now.

Lyserg was still trying to deflect all of Yoh's attacks. The Shock Wave Buddah Giri fraying the cord every time the attack was launched. Lyserg was panting and bleeding from cuts around his body. But he was giving it his all to be strong and protect a friend and help her.

The pendulum's cord was starting to erode into a few threads.

But Lyserg still kept attacking, with Yoh still blocking.

And Yoh continued to attack while Lyserg was dodging as much as he could.

"Gomene, Lysesrg." Yoh said, and he slashed the cord once more.

That was it for Lyserg.

"Lyserg Diethel is unable to Over Soul anymore. He is now disqualified from this match." Silva announced.

Though the one who lost, Lyserg smiled at Yoh, then at Morphine. Mentally telling them that they were alright. He stepped off of the platform, and Faust immeadiatly started to disinfect all of the woulds he received during the battle.

_'All up to you now, Diana.'_ Lyserg thought.

But the trouble is, Diana was as solid at a boulder.

_'How the hell am I suppose to win if I can't even move?'_

Extras:

Is there any crime in NOT letting someone on the internet?

If so, then my mom is in trouble with the law, BIG TIME!

She grounded me, and I couldn't get to this fic sooner. AND I HATE IT!

But I'm back from the dead, thank God. Though just to update this fic.

So I'm EXTREMELY SORRY FOR NOT POSTING THIS SOONER! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!

BTW, please read, review, send ideas and send to friends! (Felt MEGA ULTRA GOOD TO SAY THAT! 3333333333)

I'll see ya later! BYE!


	4. Chapter 4 The winner to decide

My first impression of high school:

EVIL BEYOND BELIEF!

But I'll try my best to at least tolerate the place.

Wish me luck!

PS. I'M EXTREMELY SORRY FOR ALL OF THIS! I've been really busy with things at home and at school, and tryin' real hard to get a part-time job, that I've been ignorin' my fanfics!

HONTO NI SUMINASEN!

Recap:

_"You need to fight more seriously! Even if it's Lyserg and Diana that you're facing tomorrow, you can't slack off! This is the Shaman Fight! And you need to defeat any opponent in your way of being Shaman King!" She ranted._

_Diana went downstairs, and turned to go see Faust and ask him something._

_"By the way." Diana suddenly said, stopping in her tracks. Lyserg looked behind, and saw her._

_"Yes?" He asked curiously._

_"Promise me...that ya won't be upset if we loose. Ok?"_

_"The only reason I entered this fight was to destroy Hao. But I already did that last year. At least for a while. I have no real drive to continue this fight anymore other than to help someone else."_

_"She has 274,000 furyoku left. From her original 500,000."_

'All up to you now, Diana.'_ Lyserg thought._

'How the hell am I suppose to win if I can't even move?'

Disclaimer: I don't own the title, "Shaman King," nor am I with any manga/anime companies in anyway. Though I do own a couple characters, so I DO own them. All characters I didn't make go to their respected owner, Takei Hiroyki-sensei.

**************************########################################**************************

Ren's sword left her neck, but quickly came back to slash her again. But that snapped her out of her thoughts as the air from the sword was warning her. She quickly stopped Ren's weapon with her own, and the contest to see who could hold their own came back.

Yoh looked over to where his friends where fighting, and saw, very faintly, that Diana was smirking, just the very slightest.

_'She has something up her sleeve, now doesn't she?'_ He thought curiously. But just stood there with his Oversoul to see what would happen.

The wind started to pick up, and Diana disappeared. And with that, Ren's stability collapsed with the force of how much he was putting his sword with, and the rest were wide-eyed. Wondering the exact same thing:

_'Where'd she go?'_

**************************########################################**************************

"128,000"

**************************########################################**************************

Yoh and Ren felt some cuts quickly forming all over their bodies. Not very big, but pretty deep. Like Diana had been going around stabbing him. But within the rules of course.

"Can't catch what'cha can't see, eh?" She said playfully, while still keeping out of sight.

**************************########################################**************************

"90,768"

**************************########################################**************************

Yoh turned when he heard that the voice was so close to him. He never saw this move before, and was confused about this.

Hao was right.

Her strategies were pretty good.

Yoh suddenly turned around, and slashed the air behind him in an attempt to try to at least clash blades with her. The next thing he saw was everything quickly turning black.

**************************########################################**************************

"85,438"

**************************########################################**************************

Diana stood behind him, face strait and with her sword backwards.

She leaned forward a bit, putting her free hand to the front of her face, wearing an apologetic smile on.

"Sorry, Yoh-san." She apologized. She straitened her posture, and put her free hand behind her back. She spun herself around to face a stunned Ren. His clothes blood-stained here and there from where she secretly cut him. Diana took hold of her sword with both hands properly. She had to admit, Ren looked pretty cute looking shocked and then determined. "Shall we continue our little strength contest?"

One could barely hint a bit of red coming off of her cheeks.

The Tao lunged forward towards her, and their blades clashed once more. Sending, surprisingly, some sparks from the impact. (Remember that Diana's sword if made entirely or wind except for the handle.) Their strengths equally matching again.

"So what did you do to Yoh?" Ren took the opportunity to ask her. He saw a smirk playing on her lips.

"I just knocked him out for a while with my swords' handle." She assured him. "Don't worry, Ren-kun. The most damage that'll happen on the boys neck'll just be a bruise."

"And the cuts from your invisible attacks?"

"I used Spirit of Air's ability to gain super fast speed, yet I was always on target. Don't worry. They're not fatal as long as you get disinfected and bandaged." She explained.

"Good to know that you're still with-in the rules." He added. "But those attacks take some toll on your furyoku."

"Oh yeah? Well that's the price that I'll pay to win!" She attempted to kick Ren in the side, but he was much too fast for that attack. He jumped about six feet in the air, and landed ten feet from her. Both of them panting a bit. "You're hesitatin', aren't'cha?" Diana questioned. This seemed to get him angry.

He shouldn't hesitate.

He's pushing aside all of his friendships for the sake of this fight.

Ren clenched his teeth, and held his sword tight enough for his knuckles to become completely white. He lunged towards her, drawing blood on her right arm when she narrowly escaped his attack.

_'YIKES! I didn't think he'd get THAT mad!'_ Diana told herself. She got out of the way of a few more of Ren's attacks, and kept on clashing with a few of her own attacks.

**_Thousand Razor Winds!_**

Ren started to drip more blood on the ground. He was panting heavily, as was she.

_'Time to finish this.'_ Diana thought. She got her sword ready, but blinked. When her eyes were open again, he was completely gone.

"Over here." She heard his voice behind her. She turned, and felt something crash into the side of her skull.

_'That was fast. Faster than me. Than wind.'_ She fell to the ground. _'Like...lightning.'_ And everything went black for her.

Silva looked at Diana, then to Ren. She was unconscious, and her Over Soul had broken. He was still standing, and he still had a bit more fuyoku left. The winner was clear.

"Diana and Lyserg can no longer fight. The winners are Ren and Yoh."

**************************########################################**************************

"0."

**************************########################################**************************

Ren looked at Diana, who was being carried by Ryu into the dorm building. She looked, almost relieved.

While he, the winner, almost looked saddened.

**************************########################################**************************

Once more...

I'M SORRY!

I've been busy with music programs, school, friends and family, (yes I have a life,) and I've had almost no time!

So I'm very sorry.

And this is shorter that some of my other chapters because I have almost no other idea's for this chapter. Sorry.

(Runs to cry in the corner.)

Please...read review...and...and send to friends.

Bye!


	5. Chapter 5 Happy Birthday

I didn't get that cool scholarship I wanted, and I'm still waitin' on that Honors Choir news. (If I don't get in, there's always next year.)

But other than that, I'm good right now. (Unless ya count no trick-or-treaters at our door on Halloween! And we even got really good candy, too! *Sobs*.)

Recap:

_"NOW what are ya gettin' at?" He smiled a bit more._

_"That you like Ren-kun." Her blush now more noticeable. "Looks like I was right once again."_

_"Ren-kun seems to be acting strange lately." Manta told the other three._

_"Strange how?" Horo Horo asked._

_"More worried about something." Manta continued. "Especially after the announcement of their first fight."_

_Elen's choker she got from Hao..._

_That's what struck him the most about Elen._

'Is she also his medium?'_ He thought._

_"I plan on making her my own Shaman Queen. Whether either one of us wins this tournament or not."_

_She got her sword ready, but blinked. When her eyes were open again, he was completely gone._

_"Over here." She heard his voice behind her. She turned, and felt something crash into the side of her skull._

'That was fast. Faster than me. Than wind.'_ She fell to the ground. _'Like...lightning.' _And everything went black for her._

_The winner was clear._

_"Diana and Lyserg can no longer fight. The winners are Ren and Yoh."_

_She looked, almost relieved._

_While he, the winner, almost looked saddened._

Disclaimer: I don't own the title, "Shaman King," nor am I with any manga/anime companies in anyway. Though I do own a couple characters, so I DO own them. All characters I didn't make go to their respected owner, Takei Hiroyki-sensei.

**************************########################################**************************

"For the hundreth-millionth time, I'm just fine, guys!" She complained. "It's just a little bruise and some cuts is all!"

"You're KIDDING me!" Horo-horo exclaimed. "You got knocked out, HARD, and you lost almost 25% of your blood from that match!" Kororo waving her Fuki leaf around like her masters arms were.

"Onii-chan's right! You shouldn't take it so lightly!"

Diana sat up-right in her bed, having woken up about 1 hour after her fight ended. Of course, everyone started pestering her and making sure she was OK, because she took the most damage.

"I sure hope you don't take this to heart." Jun said. " He can be brutal at times."

"Like I said, Jun-san, it ain't nothin'!" She assured her. "It was a match, and he had a right to."

The door opened, revealing Faust, Ryu, Tamao, Manta, Chocolove, Lyserg, Yoh and Anna in the doorway.

"Time to change your bandages, Diana." Faust told her with a smile. Nodding her head, everyone and their respective spirits came in.

"How could that brute do this to a beautiful young lady such as Diana-chan? I'll kill him for you!" Ryu proclaimed, taking her hand in his, trying to act chivalrous and noble. Causing most everyone to sweat drop at his actions.

"Seriously! I'm fine! Don't worry!"

"But you took a lot of damage in the match." Manta pointed out. "And should you really sit up like that after loosing so much blood?"

"It's really Ok." Diana pointed out. She held out her sleeve-less left arm so that Faust could take off the old bandages, and put on fresh ones. "If anything, this is actually a positive outcome."

"Positive?" Tamao questioned. Chocolove, being the idiot that he is, came up dressed as an over-sized battery.

"Positive like a battery!" All while there were some mock-lightning in the background.

...

...

...

...

Pirika and Tamao started laughing hard at the "joke".

"How is it a good thing that this happened?" Yoh asked curiously.

"Well..." She held up her right sleeve-less arm when Faust was done. "I guess it just shows that I need to get stronger. In a way I feel like a weight's been lifted offa my shoulders." She rested her head on the wall behind her. "Like I can start my life all over again. Like I was born again today."

"Well we're glad to hear that." Amidamaru said politely.

"If you want I can write up your new birth certificate." Faust said mockingly after finishing her legs.

"That won't be necessary, Faust-san."

"Well let's leave Diana to rest." Anna suggested harshly. "Yoh, you have a lot of training to do now that you're going to move up in the fight. You can start with 50 miles around the town."

"But Anna!" Yoh cried anime tears.

"I'm sure that the scenery and the weather will help you along." And with that, Anna left the room. Followed shortly by most of the others.

"Everything seems to be OK. Just rest up." Faust informed Diana.

"Thanks, Faust-sensei." Diana said with a smile. She watched as everyone else left the room, being followed shortly by the very quiet Lyserg. "I'm sorry." Lyserg stopped when he heard that. Turning his head, he found that Diana's smile had disappeared.

"For what?" He asked curiously.

"Wasn't there any other reason for you to be in the tournament?" She asked. The green-haired boy smiled, and sat on her bed.

"Not really. No." He said.

"I wouldn't lie if I were you." Diana bluntly told him. "You wanted to see them again, right?" She asked.

"You could see right through others. Not many people can do that." He said. There was a silence between then for a little while after that.

"Ren-kun...He only cut my arms and legs." Diana saw the confused expression on her dowser partners face. "All my scars from Mother's beating were on my arms and legs. Now..." She suddenly found the ceiling the most interesting thing. "Faust-sensei said that Ren-kun's cuts'll heal, and leave virtually no scars. That means..."

"Your scars of the past are gone." Lyserg concluded.

"It really IS like my second birthday today." A new smile playing on her lips. Sinking deeper into her covers, Diana closed her eyes, and was soon asleep. Lyserg looking at her with a kind smile.

**************************########################################**************************

"Bocchama. Don't you want to go see Diana-sama?" Bason asked his master.

"Not really." He said, still sitting on his bed. "It would probably be a little too weird between us."

"Ya still poutin'?" A harsh voice boomed across his room. Looking at the open door, Ren found Elen leaning in the frame. "You're pathetic. And here I thought that all the Tao's were supposed to be ruthless dictators without any weak emotions." She sighed in exasperation. "I guess I was wrong. Maybe the rumors were just a myth."

"Shut UP!" The Tao yelled angerly. "What would YOU know about ANY weak emotions? YOU were the one who left Diana so cold-heartedly! YOU were the one who joined Hao! You were the one who-"

SLAP!

"Instead of tryin' to make yourself feel better, why don't you try to make Diana feel better." Elen told him, her right hand turning slightly red. "You're so blind to the truth that she wanted YOU to come to her aid. Not me, you!"

Seriously, she might be able to send shivers down ANNA'S spine with that glare of hers.

However, scary as she is, Ren's stubbornness just HAD to get the better of him.

"Why would I, the one who almost killed her, be the one to be by her side at a time like this?" He asked harshly. "Why ME and not YOU?"

"Ya know, this one time when we were little kids, Diana wanted this one toy real badly." Ren's interest peaked. But why would Elen be telling a story like this? "She didn't say anythin'. She just kept holdin' the fact that she wanted it in. When it was our birthday, Diana didn't get that toy, but still wanted it."

"How is this relevant to anything?"

"She ain't that good at openly expressin' her true feelings. And when she does it's all spilled out at once, no matter how much time has passed." She turned, and walked away. "Just remember that."

**************************########################################**************************

And there he found himself.

Ren was standing next to the still sleeping Diana.

She looked so peaceful and content. Like if someone were to kill her, she would gladly go back to the Great Spirit at that very moment.

But at the same time, distressed. Of what, Ren couldn't quite place his finger on it.

Just like he couldn't quite place his finger on why the fuck he sat down on the edge of her bed, and started to play with her blond hair a little.

Or even why he just kissed her on her cheek just then.

But it seems...

That Diana looked a little more relaxed after that.

And that seemed to make all the difference in the world to him.

**************************########################################**************************

"So what will you do, now that the tournament is over for you, Lyserg Diethel?" A sweet voice asked him. The green-haired child thought about it for a second.

"I guess...try to accomplish my dream of being a detective." He answered. "If you were to loose, what would you do, Jeanne-sama?"

"Oh, I don't know." She said, with just the faintest hint of red on her cheeks. Lyserg started to look at Jeanne in a thoughtful way, making her cheeks a bit hotter than she liked.

"Perhaps a school teacher. Or maybe you can even own your own bakery." He commented. "You know, something quiet and peaceful to match your personality."

"Oh, those are wonderful ideas!" She exclaimed happily. "Somewhere nice and quiet, where there is no crime."

"Of course that be bad for my dream." Lyserg pointed out. Jeanne started to giggle despite herself. Sharing a meal with her friends and having a nice conversation has always been one of her greatest pleasures.

"I guess it would." She said. Reaching over the tabel, she patted the future detective on his hand, and a couple sparks shot up his spine from the simple touch of a 9-year-old. "I'm sure that your dream will come true." The silver-haired maiden assured him. "How could it not, since you are on the side of justice?"

"Arigato, Jeanne-sama."

Unbeknownst to the two, a pair of knowing deep blue eyes were watching them both. Deciding that they didn't need any pushes, they walked back to the second floor of the building.

**************************########################################**************************

YAY!

NOT MANY BLOCKS THIS TIME! I'M HAPPY!

And thanks to all of ya who are still readin' this load of crap.

And I say 'crap' because in the third part of the series, this is gonna be garbage next to the new chapters. Like the fist few chapters of the last fanfic are crap compared to my recent chapters.

Anyway...

Please read, review, send ideas and send to friends.

CYA NEXT TIME!


	6. Chapter 6 Am I unnessesary?

O.O I STILL can't believe that anyone would read this! I mean, on November 10th, my views spiked at an all-time high at 166! And for that...

HOUNTO NI ARIGATO GOZAIMASU!

It makes me very happy, and after I got rejected from the Honors Choir too! Y.Y T.T But it's OK. NOBODY from my school got in, so I ain't alone! And there's always next year too. Anyway...

Recap:

_"Um, who are you?" Elen asked._

_"Sara. Sara Avalon." She told her._

_Elen's choker she got from Hao..._

_That's what struck him the most about Elen._

"Spirit of Fire!" He called. The collar around Elen's neck started to glow a vibrant red. Much to everyone's surprise.

_Yoh had the feeling that Elen was more than just a comrade to Hao._

'Is she also his medium?'_ He thought._

_"You're so blind to the truth that she wanted YOU to come to her aid. Not me, you!"_

_"Why would I, the one who almost killed her, be the one to be by her side at a time like this?" He asked harshly. "Why ME and not YOU?"_

_"She ain't that good at openly expressin' her true feelings. Just remember that."_

_Or even why he just kissed her on her cheek just then._

_But it seems..._

_That Diana looked a little more relaxed after that._

_And that seemed to make all the difference in the world to him._

Disclaimer: I don't own the title, "Shaman King," nor am I with any manga/anime companies in anyway. Though I do own a couple characters, so I DO own them. All characters I didn't make go to their respected owner, Takei Hiroyki-sensei.

**************************########################################**************************

"Hey, you!" A cold voice echoed through the silence of the bay's nature.

"What is it, Anna-san?" An equally cold voice asked.

"Are you really Hao's medium?" The Itako asked bluntly. The girl in question looked at Anna with a blank expression. Now that she gave some consideration, she and Elen seemed alike in more ways than just their attitudes, but also in looks.

"You're smart." Elen complimented. "Of course, I myself am not the medium, but this collar that which also marks me as Hao's." Her eyes narrowed when I said that. "Of course, ya shoulda just asked Yoh-san that. The boy caught it pretty quick. He ain't as dumb as he looks." She commented.

"Of course. Yoh's my fiance and he's going to be the Shaman King." Anna squeezed in. Elen stepped past the other blond, and proceeded to the more inner part of the natural enviroment.

"We'll see."

She walked and walked. In all honesty, she was getting really annoyed with everyone, and needed to get away from it.

...

Needed to get away from Hao.

Elen didn't understand anything about why her cheeks would start to burn a bit when he was around her.

Why she seemed a bit happier when she saw him.

Why she stuttered when people accused her of liking him.

Why she felt so comfortable when he wrapped his arm around her.

And that was what made her all the more uncomfortable.

"Wakaranai, kore wa kimochi." She told herself when she stopped, looking out at the bay. "I just don't know what I feel towards him. But he's really suppose to just be a comrade to me. That's it. But maybe, this is what ya feel towards a comrade."

"Ko ko ko!" A tiny voice sounded.

_'That kinda sounded like Kororo.' _Elen thought._ 'But that wasn't her's.'_ Turning, she saw the little creature who had made that sound.

A little spirit was floating around the plants, smiling all the while. He wore a blue version of Kororo's clothing, and even had a Fuki leaf in hand.

_'Koropokkuru?'_ She mentally asked herself.

The little creature looked in Elen's direction, and saw her eyes.

Blue.

"GET OFFA ME!" Elen shouted, now sitting on the beach made of broken shells.

With-in the span of about 1 second, the little Koropokkuru had suddenly charged and grabbed hold of Elen's eye. Or at least her eyelid.

"SAGE! SAGE!" A masculine voice called out. The little creature looked over, and flew in the direction of the voice. Elen, feeling that it was safe to open her eyes again, saw a boy who had to be around her age his arms crossed. He had to be about 5' 8", and had a black shirt with stars all over it and a tree necklace on top of that. He was also wearing jean pants, and had short, black hair. His brown eyes looked a bit annoyed as they gazed down at the Koropokkuru, now named Sage, who had his head down in shame. Elen narrowed her eyes, and her eyebrows started to knit as she was caught in his stare, which seemed to have soften as he saw her. "Given that you shouted what you did, I can safely assume that you can see him?" The boy asked.

"Yeah, I can. Any reason I shouldn't?" She asked. "I AM a shaman after all." Elen continued, seeming very annoyed that her peace had once again, been interrupted.

_'A Southern American accent? Or ghetto, maybe?'_

"So what are you doing here?" The boy asked.

"Tryin'a get away from some annoyances." She said. Bringing herself up, she in turn dusted any broken shells that clung to herself. "You?"

"Just taking a walk around." He told her, stretching his arms over his head. "School was rough and I needed to clear my mind."

"'School'?" Elen questioned. "But school lets out at 3."

The new boy lowered his arms. "That's for elementry and middle school." He explained. "I'm in highschool."

"Oh, really?" Elen's head cocked to the side in amazement. "I didn't know that."

"Really? You'd think you'd know that. It's like you've never gone to school before." But the boy just saw her looking at him with a vacant gaze.

Realization.

"You're a truant?"

"Ya know, that's EXACTLY the reaction a girl had when SHE found out." She told him. "Sarah Avalon."

"Oh, you met my cousin?" The boy asked.

"You're cousin?"

"Yeah. I'm Hiro Tomio. Cousin of Sarah Avalon." He explained. "She keeps on talking about two girls who don't seem to go to school, and are twins."

"I guess that's me and my sister." Elen said. "Elen McDonell. Nice to meet'cha."

Hiro held out his hand, expecting her to take it, but was curious as to why she only flinched and looked at it with a mixture of fear and confusion.

"Um...Why're ya stickin' your hand out at me?" She asked nervously. Her eyes darting from the hand to Hiro's realized eyes.

"You don't know what a handshake is, do you?" He asked, amazed. After a quick shaking of Elen's head to confirm 'no', Hiro laughed a bit. "Just take my hand." He said as he grabbed Elen's small black wrist, and guiding it towards his own hand. Still confused, Elen grasped onto his own, feeling the slight cold that came with the coming cooler season. She felt her hand being pulled up and down. "That's a handshake. It's something you do when you want to say that you're pleased to meet someone."

"Ok?" Elen replied, still confused.

_BEEP BEEP BEEP!_

"ACK!" She pulled her hand away from Hiro's in surprise, while he had a look of curiosity. "Uh, sorry." She apologized, reaching for her Oracle Bell.

_BEEP BEEP BEEP!_

She pulled her left sleeve up past the screen, and promptly shutting the beeping off.

"An Oracle Bell?"

"You know this thing?" She asked, glancing up at him.

"I was...almost qualified for the Shaman Fights."

...

...

...

"Ya lost to an officiant, didn't'cha?" She asked.

"Yeah." Hiro lowered his head in shame.

**************************########################################**************************

"WHHHHAAAAAAAAAA!" A loud thumping could be heard around the boarding house. Coupled with the loud wailing of a crying dragon.

"Ah, Ryu-san, what's wrong?" Manta asked in the lobby of the house. Ryu stopped, turned, and began to squeeze the life out of his short friend.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! MANTA!" Ryu cried.

"Wh-what's wrong?" Manta asked, not enough breath in his lungs.

"THAT'S WHAT _I'D_ LIKE TO KNOW!" The Itako Anna asked annoyed, her beads wrapped around Ryu's ridiculous pompadored hair, pulling him away from the midget.

"Me and Faust have to fight Elen and Hao! We're gonna die!"

"Am I hearing things or are Elen and Hao your next opponents?" The Ainu Horo-Horo asked. That only made Ryu cry even louder until somebody decided to slam her boot into his mouth. Followed by another cry.

"Shut it! Ya woke Alexa!" And angry green-eyed girl announced. With a calm blue-eyed green-haired Jun just watching in amusement at the new development.

"Are you as cold as ice?" Horo-Horo asked increduously.

"Yeah! Ryu-san and Faust have to fight Hao and Elen." Manta agreed.

"I think this idiot made that PERFECTLY CLEAR!" Fire shot up behind Diana's back. "And personally, I'm rootin' for Elen. Even though she IS fightin' with the man I despise the most!"

"I love you too." A boy's voice said mockingly in the entrance of the eating area. Strange as it was, Hao wasn't in his normal clothes. He had a dress shirt that was untucked, and the first three buttons were undone. He wore blue jeans, and had black shoes on.

Wierd.

"Hey." Horo called. Hao looked up to the blue Ainu, still on the stairs. "Why're you dressed like that?" He asked.

"That poncho get's scratchy sometimes." He explained. "I wear this whenever I need a break from it." Walking over to Diana, he lifted the still crying Alexa from the comforting arms of her older sister. "You're holding her wrong." He informed her. "A baby's head needs to be elevated like this so that they don't bounce." Hao demonstrated it, and the crying newborn was silenced.

"Oh, he'll make a great husband someday. Right, Diana-chan?" Jun asked her new favorite girl of the group. Mostly because she's hoping for Ren and her to get together.

"Um...yeah." Diana agreed shakily. She watched as Alexa started to sleep again, now totally unbothered by her surroundings. "I'm goin' to my room." And she ran up the stairs.

However, before she left, Hao caught this little thought:

_"Am I just unneeded for anythin'?"_

**************************########################################**************************

TADAIMA!

Yay! I ain't dead! Please forgive the late update, but I was EXTREMELY busy with school and the holidays. But I'M BACK!

And with a new segment.

I came up with this idea that you guys can ask Elen questions. Like her opinions, and why she does things. You can also ask Diana too.

Elen: Yeah. If ya guys wanna know some things about me and Diana, go for it.

Diana: I'm sure it'll be fun!

That's the spirit guys!

So anyway...

Read, review, send ideas and send to friends

UNTIL NEXT TIME!


	7. Chapter 7 Diana's Resolution

I'm hopin' to get a solo in my next choir concert! :3 I'm plannin' on singin' "You are my love" from Tsubasa Chronicles. And in complete Japanese. Mr. R said that he'll say whether or not I'll get a solo by mid-February. I hope I get it! Ya know, my concert's actually on a Thursday, instead of a Friday this time. Strange.

Recap: (-If anyone know what this is short for, please tell me.)

_"That you like Ren-kun." Her blush now more noticeable._

_Elen's choker she got from Hao..._

_"I plan on making her my own Shaman Queen. Whether either one of us wins this tournament or not."_

_She looked, almost relieved._

_While he, the winner, almost looked saddened._

_"You're so blind to the truth that she wanted YOU to come to her aid. Not me, you!"_

_"Why would I, the one who almost killed her, be the one to be by her side at a time like this?" He asked harshly. "Why ME and not YOU?"_

_Or even why he just kissed her on her cheek just then._

_But it seems..._

_That Diana looked a little more relaxed after that._

_And that seemed to make all the difference in the world to him._

_"Yeah. I'm Hiro Tomio. Cousin of Sarah Avalon."_

_"Me and Faust have to fight Elen and Hao! We're gonna die!"_

_"Oh, he'll make a great husband someday."_

"Am I just unneeded for anythin'?"

Disclaimer: I don't own the title, "Shaman King," nor am I with any manga/anime companies in anyway. Though I do own a couple characters, so I DO own them. All characters I didn't make go to their respected owner, Takei Hiroyki-sensei.

**************************########################################**************************

"Hey, Elen?" Diana called from the doorway.

"What is it?" Elen asked her, pulling her hair from a black short-sleeved shirt. She also had some black pant on, with two light blue stripes along the legs, and had a pair of dirty-white tennis shoes close-by.

"Well, I was wondering…" The younger twin started, fingering the scissors that rested between her hands, folded behind her back.

"Wondering what?" Elen asked, tying up her hair with a black ribbon after placing her hair band on top.

"If you would cut my hair." Diana finally said, withdrawing the scissors from their hiding place. Elen looked at her, surprise evident in her eyes. She brought her arms down after tightening the bow.

"You really want your hair cut?" She asked, making sure she heard right.

"Yeah. I do." There was determination glittering through her eyes. "It was always you who wanted long hair. Besides, it's getting' really hard to keep it clean and neat." Diana smiled embarrassed, and placed her left hand on the back of her head.

A slight smile stretched across Elen's lips.

_'She's openin' up. That's good.'_

"Come here then." She said. Diana followed, and stepped in front of Elen. The eldest of the sisters twirled her around so that she saw the back. Elen took the scissors, and a lock of Diana's gold. "Ya sure about this?"

"I am. 100%." Her voice shook only slightly, not missed by Elen's ears, but she didn't stop as she started to cut the long hair short.

**************************########################################**************************

"Hey, has anyone seen Diana this morning?" Pirika asked everyone.

"No, I cannot say I have." Jeanne replied.

"Have any of you seen her?" Tamao asked the ghosts.

"Sorry, nope." Tokagero waved off.

"Nor have we." Amidamaru replied, with a "No" from Bason and "Kukuku" from Kororo.

"That's strange." Faust pondered.

"She's probably out taking a walk." Marco suggested, taking a sip of his coffee. "The weather is wonderful. It reminds me of my days in Italy."

"We would've seen her if she were taking a walk." Manta replied, fanning an exhausted Yoh.

"Come on Diana!" Elen's voice, unusually care-free, called from the stairs.

"But what if-"

"No 'buts'!" Elen replied sternly. This interested the occupants of the room.

"Oh, Diana-chan was just with Elen-chan, huh?" Ryu pondered.

"They must've made up with everything that's going on." Silva suggested, carrying their breakfasts to the table.

"Maybe." Horo commented simply.

"Hey guys!" Elen poked her head through the door, with an unusually bright smile on her face.

"What is it?" Hao asked, feeding Alexa.

"I got a surprise for all of y'all."

"What?" Ren asked annoyed. "You decided to finally wear something besides that other outfit?" Taking in her new appearance.

"Not even close Tao!" She retorted, pissed suddenly.

"Then what is it?" Anna asked coolly.

Elen started to pull something into the room.

"Come on, ya idiot! Don't be shy! It was YOUR decision in the first place." She said, still pulling.

There stood infont of them, Diana McDonell, still in her usual white outfit, but her hair was different. Though it still had that white headband in it, her hair had been cut until it only reached about half-way down her neck.

Elen did a pretty good job. Though it took about half a minute before anyone could say anything or even recognize her. She looked so different. And when they did, it came out like:

"DIANA!" The failed comedian exclaimed. "Is that really you!"

"Um...yeah." She said meekly, looking down to the floor.

"Ah, Diana-chan, your hair looks so cute!" Jun gushed.

The elder of the twins looked around the room's occupants. Her eyes landed on one Tao Ren, who's eyes were wide, face red. She immediately understood the face, and leaned forward until her lips were close to Diana's ear.

"Good luck lil' sis!" She whispered in haste. Diana looked at her questionably as Elen grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl on the table, and ran out of the house. "I'm off!"

"Have fun!" Hao simply replied.

**************************########################################**************************

"Hehehe!" Elen giggled, running along Foster City's streets. "That's the first time Diana's ever told me what she wanted for herself. I'm so proud!" Stopping at the cross-walk, she took a big bite of the fruit, and pushed the button for the signal. Not ten seconds later, the red hand turned into a white walking stick figure, and she was on her way to the other side walk.

Stopping at the next cross-walk, she pushed the button again, and her face fell a bit.

"But that means that I might not be able to be with her as much." She told herself. She slapped herself. "I'm the one to went with Hao! I'm the one who wants to erase her memories!" She reminded herself. "I got no reason to be so God damn sad about it." Elen walked across the street, to a wonderfully big and beautiful park. Trees towered over her, and there were wide green fields. There was a beautiful, sparkling blue lagoon stretching along the length of a board-walk, with an amphitheater and a couple of piers to go on boat rides.

"THAT'S IT!" A voice yelled over the calmness of the park. Then some clicking of a camera. "That's good!" Looking over to one of the many grass lawns, she saw a couple of people in stylish clothing doing some kind of poses. Then some flashes around.

"What's goin' on?" She asked one of the light men.

"We're having a photo shoot for the winter fashion styles." He replied.

There was a girl and a boy. The girl wore her hair in a down style, just past her shoulders and her long bangs framing her face. She wore a nice dark blue winter jacket which buttoned up and had a faux fur trimming on her sleeves and hood. Pink wool gloves hugged her hands, and had a heavy-looking dark blue pair of jeans with black boots on. The boy was wearing a light brown trench coat that was open with a black turtle-neck and a white scarf that was tied. He also had jeans, but they looked lighter, and had some green sneackers.

She was just staring at them for a while, when suddenly shes felt a hand on her shoulder. Scared at the sudden contact, Elen slowly looked behind her, and saw a woman with vibrant red hair reaching her mid upper-arm. She had a green t-shirt, blue jeans, and black pumps. She seemed to have an evil look in her green eyes too.

"How would you like to model some of our clothing for us?" She asked, sounding almost amused. Elen's voice froze for a moment.

"W-what?"

"You have the perfect look for our formal winter dresses." The woman explained. "And my model suddenly got sick and can't work today."

"B-but I've never modeled ANY sort of clothes before!" Elen replied hastily.

"Don't worry." The woman said brightly, pulling Elen with her to the brought-along changing room. "You learn by doing!"

"HELP MEEE!"

**************************########################################**************************

"Hm." Hao hummed.

"What's wrong, Hao?" Yoh asked.

"Elen's not back yet." He replied. He had laid Alexa down in her crib long ago, and his fight wasn't until tomorrow. Ryu was freaking in his room while Faust was being lovey-dovey with Eliza in the sitting room across from the three teens.

"She's probably somewhere remembering something sad around town or something." Ren suggested, still a bit flustered at the sight of a short-haired Diana.

"Perhaps." The pyro-shaman replied. He looked at the door which leaded to the outside of the house for a bit. "I'm going to look for her." He said, standing.

"Why?" His little brother asked.

"I'm getting worried. It shouldn't take an hour and a half for her run." He explained. "Come on, Ren."

"OI! WHY SHOULD _I_ COME ALONG!" The Tao yelled/asked, his hair growing about five feet. Hao tuned to face him.

"Because you're still confused with your feelings for Diana-especially with her new hairstyle-and you're also pretty worried about Elen." He retorted. Ren turned red with anger. "Do you want to stay here and make a fool of yourself in front of your hunting goddess whenever you see her?" Yoh's eyes widened when his brother said those things.

"EH? You like Diana, Ren?" He asked, completely amazed.

"Shouldn't it've been obvious from the start?" Faust asked in his German-filled Japanese. All the while, the Chinese was blushing an even deeper red than before.

**************************########################################**************************

OK!

I updated faster! Yay! Even though it was a bit cut off. But that's as far as I could go, and at least this is over 2000 words. (Hallelujah!)

Unfortunately, nobody sent any questions, so I'm gonna ask the girls things that you guys might be wonderin' yourselves. Ready?

Elen: Sure.

Diana: Yeah!

1. Why do you two call your parents "Mother" and "Father"?

Elen: Our Father's parents were rich land owners from Alabama. We used to visit them all the time and they taught us how to be 'proper' ladies.

Diana: It's also where we got our accents and why we say the words the way we do. But it ain't like we use those manners anyway!

OK, 2. Why do you guys wear the colors that you do? And did you guys wear any other colors?

Elen: We did wear multi-colored clothing, but when our grandparents died in a car accident when we were four, I refused to wear anything but black. I felt better in black.

Diana: And after that, I couldn't wear anything but white.

So that's the reason you guys wear them? For comfort?

Elen & Diana: Yup!

OK! Now that that's over...

Please read, review, send ideas questions and to friends.

Bye-bye!


	8. Chapter 8 Disasters and Donuts?

I got the solo, I kicked ASS at it, and then I kicked ASS at the Talent Show with "How to Save a Life" by The Fray too! I even got a standing ovation! YAY!

Recap:

_"That you like Ren-kun."_

_"Ren-kun seems to be acting strange lately."_

'Is she also his medium?'

_"I plan on making her my own Shaman Queen."_

_"She ain't that good at openly expressin' her true feelings. Just remember that."_

_Or even why he just kissed her on her cheek just then._

_"Yeah. I'm Hiro Tomio. Cousin of Sarah Avalon."_

_"Me and Faust have to fight Elen and Hao! We're gonna die!"_

_"Oh, he'll make a great husband someday."_

"Am I just unneeded for anythin'?"

'She's openin' up. That's good.'

_...her hair had been cut until it only reached about half-way down her neck._

_Her eyes landed on one Tao Ren, who's eyes were wide, face red._

_"But that means that I might not be able to be with her as much."_

_"You have the perfect look for our formal winter dresses."_

_"EH? You like Diana, Ren?"_

Disclaimer: I don't own the title, "Shaman King," nor am I with any manga/anime companies in anyway. Though I do own a couple characters, so I DO own them. All characters I didn't make go to their respected owner, Takei Hiroyki-sensei.

**************************########################################**************************

"THAT'S IT! THAT'S PERFECT!" The woman yelled happily at Elen.

_'How'd I get mixed up in this kinda crap!'_ Elen internally screamed, examining herself. A black floral corset, showing some cleavage, a satin mini skirt, a pair of black tights, and some black pumps.

"Now to make-up and hair with you!" She said, pushing Elen to the stand. "This is Sydnie and Xianja." She introduced to two African women, smiling. Sydnie had a kind of reddish-brown hair with a beret in it. Xianja had her black hair in a bun and had a black hat on.

"C'mon gorgeous!" Xianja called, motioning to the chair.

_'Gorgeous?'_ Hesitatingly, Elen climbed in.

"Woah!" Sydnie exclaimed. "What's with all these scars?"

"I'm-uh-clumsy." Elen lied. "I fall down a lot."

"Well you better not fall down in those shoes." Xianja said, starting to gather up half of her hair, and tying it in the back, while Sydnie started to put cover-up on all of the scars.

Particularly a pretty large one, that seemed to be going straight across her chest.

**************************########################################**************************

"Well where do you suggest we start looking for her first?" Ren asked impatiently. The person in question put his finger to his chin in thought for about five seconds.

"I don't know." Hao admitted with a care-free smile.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN, 'YOU DON'T KNOW'?" Ren's hair started to grow about ten or fifteen feet at that statement.

"Now calm down, Ren." He soothed. "You know that I can't hear her thoughts, and we can't really sense her furyoku like she and Diana can."

The scion's hair started to shrink to a more normal size. However, he was still pissed about how long they were looking. Twenty minutes, and they still haven't found the Spirit of Water user.

"So then where do you supposed we should start? She could be ANYWHERE in this godforsaken city!" Ren sputtered.

"Well, as a wise man once said, 'Every long journey begins with a single step'," Hao answered serenely.

"Oh I see. Did said wise man say which direction this 'single step' should be?" Ren sarcastically muttered.

"How about right behind us?"

"Yeah yeah sure right be-...wait what?"

"Why not? She could be in this Safeway, you know. Plus, I hear they have great donuts here."

Ren sighed and slowly rubbed his temples. "I highly doubt that, Hao."

"No, seriously, it's the way they bake them in the oven..."

"FORGET THE DONUTS FOR A SECOND PLEASE! You do realize that it was YOU who suggested that we find her?"

Hao came up to Ren and gently placed his hand on his shoulder. "Ren, you won't be able to do anything if you're this flustered. Especially when it comes to Diana." Hao saw Ren's face redden a bit at that statement. "You need to calm down. Why don't we cross the street and go to the grassy park? If we meditate there by the water, we can think with fresh and calmed minds."

Ren sighed. "You're right. And hopefully from there on out, we can gain some leads."

"Good." Hao smiled at his accomplishment.

Stepping across the paved street to the other side, they came to the aforementioned park. The sky was clear and bright, and the water was just sparkling in the sun. The lush green grass felt cool and soft, and the air seemed calm. A perfect place to relax and meditate.

Or it was until...

"BEAUTIFUL! JUST PERFECT!"

An older woman's voice broke the peace and serenity of the beautiful park, causing Ren to visibly flinch from fright, and Hao to look curiously towards the voice's direction. Flashes of a camera and more high-pitched squeals of delight flowed from the direction the two boys were looking towards. Spotting what was being photographed on the boardwalk, Ren and Hao both saw the back of a girl in a short black dress, tights and heels, with waist-length blond hair, half tied up with a black bow, and the other half fluttering in the calm wind.

"Now, Elen, I want you to give me a pose for 'I'm having fun'!"

'Elen?'

When the girl turned around, the two saw that it was indeed the Elen that they were looking for. And she gave off a bright smile and she bent her right leg, and seemed to let her right hand trail behind while her left rested on the rail between the lagoon and the boardwalk. The pose was soon captured.

"SHE'S BEEN HERE THE WHOLE TIME!" Ren yelled angrily to nobody in particular.

"Seems that way." Hao replied.

The Chinese heir started to storm across the grass, ready to forcibly take Elen if he must-_'DAMN THE FURYOKU DIFFERENCE!'-_when he was stopped by two formidable, large men clothed in an intimidating black.

"LET ME PASS!" Ren demanded, affronted that they wouldn't let him through.

"Nobody can pass through this point." The first said.

"A photo shoot is going on, and you can't disturb it." The second one finished. Ren scowled at the two in front of him.

"Let me through. I have business there." He growled.

The two looked at eachother briefly, contemplating in silence of whether or not to let him through. When they turned back, the first of the huge men asked, "ID then, please." The purple-haired boy's rash mind started to go into overdrive as he started to reach for his weapon forgetting Bason wasn't there, when again, the fire-shaman's hand found it's way to his shoulder, doing little to nothing to calm the seething Ren.

"Sorry, but we don't have any ID's." Hao coolly told the two. "But we do know that girl over there, being photographed."He directed their attention to Elen, who was now on a bench, her hands firmly planted next to her hips with a look of innocence in her eyes.

"Oh, you mean Ms. Makuro?" The second of the two asked.

_'Makuro?'_ The two teens mentally asked themselves. Ren had cooled down enough and had stopped reaching for his weapon, and Hao's hand dropped to his side.

"Ms. O'Riley!" The first called out to the red-headed adult.

"What!" She asked, agitated at being interrupted in the middle of a photo shoot

"We have a couple of boys here who say that their friends of Ms. Makuro." The second one finished.

The aforementioned blond water-shaman looked towards where the security guards were stationed. Sure enough, Elen saw both Hao and Ren standing there, confusion and relief in their eyes.

"HAO! REN-KUN!" She called out excitingly. Shooting up from her sitting position on the bench, Elen ran over to where the two shaman's were, pushing the guards out of her way and clinging to their shirts. There was a bit of gasping and wheezing, but not that much.

"OI! What the hell's going on here!" Ren asked harshly.

"Ms. O'Riley (gasp) just took me (gasp) and had me do a photo shoot." She caught her breath finally.

"Why?" Hao asked.

"One of my models canceled, and she was perfect for the look!" Ms. O'Riley shouted gleefully. "I mean, LOOK AT HER! SHE LOOKS TOO PERFECT LIKE THAT!" The two boys finally took in what she was wearing, and both agreed that she did look good in the clothes. There were more flashes of light and more pictures taken. "I LOVE IT!"

"HELP ME!" She hissed urgently. The camera flashes stopped suddenly.

"Hm. I like the way this woman's thinking." Hao stated. Ren looked over at him, confusion in his eyes. Elen had an equally confused expression on her face as well.

3...

2...

1...

"HOW WOULD YOU TWO LIKE TO BE IN THE CATALOG AS WELL?" Ms. O'Riley shouted at the two boys, stars in her eyes.

"WHAAAT?" Ren shouted, his tongari shooting up twenty feet, as well as knocking Elen off of his shirt. She was left to just hold onto Hao's dress shirt, surprise and some fear in her eyes at the new developments.

Things were not gonna be pretty.

**************************########################################**************************

Yay! Updated!

And special thanks to my best friend, InfiniteHallucinations or Aki-chan as I like callin' her in real life for helpin' me with gettin' my block to leave. She's the best friend anyone could ever have! THANK YOU, AKI-CHAN!

Oh, and I'm now 15. YAY!

Now on to the Q+A.

Elen: FINALLY!

What are your favorite colors?

Elen: I thought we already covered this. Black.

Diana: Repetitive and inattentive. No offense. White.

Elen: We ARE the Yin-Yang twins after all.

OK. What are your favorite pass-times?

Elen: I like reading and taking walks.

Diana: Dancing for fun is good. Marco-san is actually a good dance partner too.

Elen: You danced with Marco-san?

Diana: Yeah, he did study ballet when he was younger.

That's right. So read review se-

Hiro and Sara: WAIT A SECOND!

(Elen Diana and me looks confused.)

Sara: WHY DO THEY GET THE QUESTIONS? WHY NOT ME OR HIRO?

SORRY! BUT THEY'RE THE MAIN OC'S!

Alexa (5-year-old): Well it ain't fair!

Elen: An older version of Alexa?

Alexa: I grew up a bit so that I could speak too! We want questions too!

Hiro: Yeah. It'd be nice have some equal treatment.

OK OK! ALRIGHT ALREADY! God damn it! I never thought you guys would get so pushy. ESPECIALLY YOU, ALEXA-CHAN!

Alexa: Well Hoshi-nee-chan, that's how I am sometimes.

Alright.

Now read, review, send ideas and questions and send to friends.

Elen Diana Hiro Sara and 5-year-old Alexa: SEE YOU ALL NEXT TIME!


	9. Chapter 9 Her warrior, her heart

I'M NOT DEAD!

Recap:

_"That you like Ren-kun."_

_"Ren-kun seems to be acting strange lately."_

'Is she also his medium?'

_"I plan on making her my own Shaman Queen."_

_"She ain't that good at openly expressin' her true feelings. Just remember that."_

_Or even why he just kissed her on her cheek just then._

'She's openin' up. That's good.'

_Her eyes landed on one Tao Ren, who's eyes were wide, face red._

_"But that means that I might not be able to be with her as much."_

_"You have the perfect look for our formal winter dresses."_

_"EH? You like Diana, Ren?"_

_Particularly a pretty large one, that seemed to be going straight across her chest._

_"Oh, you mean Ms. Makuro?"_

_"HOW WOULD YOU TWO LIKE TO BE IN THE CATALOG AS WELL?"_

Disclaimer: I don't own the title, "Shaman King," nor am I with any manga/anime companies in anyway. Though I do own a couple characters, so I DO own them. All characters I didn't make go to their respected owner, Takei Hiroyki-sensei.

####################**************************************####################

"HELL NO!" Ren shouted at the red-haired woman "NO WAY AM I GOING TO DO THAT!"

"Oh, c'mon Ren!" Hao smiled at the fuming Tongiri boy. "It looks like Elen was having a lot of fun, so why not try it out?" Elen, who was still clutching Hao's shirt from Ren's surprise outburst, looked at her companion mortified.

"I…I WAS NOT HAVING FUN!" She yelled in denial, her hands flying away from Hao when she saw how close they were being at the moment.

"Tch. Whatever." Ren started to walk back to the outskirts of the city, intending to just go back and forget this whole thing ever happened, when he felt a strong tug on his arm. Looking to find who the offender was that dared pull a Tao, he was met with the sparkling green of Ms. O'Reily once again. "OI! GET OFF OF ME!" He yelled at the photographer.

"Please?" The grown woman begged like a little child. Her green eyes shining in crocodile tears as she looked pleadingly at the scion.

That seemed to do him in.

Maybe it was the way she pleaded?

No.

Tao Ren wasn't one who caved in to someone begging.

Or perhaps it was her eyes themselves.

From his angle, looking slightly down at Ms. O'Reily and from the light of the late morning sun, they looked awfully familiar. She had that same shade of emerald that a certain shaman who occupied his thoughts had.

And the way they shined with tears reminded the Tao about how she looked when Elen had left.

They reminded him about the feelings running through him when she smiled a bright smile, just for him when she accepted his kindness, and finally started to trust everyone for the first time.

Hao, the mind-reader, had simply watched the images running through his companions' thoughts about a certain blonde back at the levee. Looking over to his own girl, he saw a sly, all-knowing smirk play on her shiny pink lips as she her way over to the still stoned Chinese. (wait stoned?)

"Actually, Ms. O'Reily, I think that Ren-kun has somewhere he needs to be right now." She reasoned, with her left hand on his shoulder. Ren snapped from his train of thought, and started to bore holes in Elen's pretty blonde hair.

"WHAT did you just call me?" He hissed venomously. He slightly regretted it when she turned her head in Ren-kun's direction.

"'Ren-kun.'" She repeated. "Diana can call you that. So it's only logical that her _older sister_ can call you that too." Ms. O'Reily had at that point taken her hands away from the younger boy.

"She's got you there." Hao chirped in. Ren glared at the pyro-shaman's words, trying hard to will the other into flames or that lightning would strike him down. Hao merely shrugged at the Chinese boy's thoughts. "It's only natural."

Ren huffed and shook off Elen's hand to try to get away. Though before he got 5 steps into his stride, he was harshly pulled back by the ear by feminine but still very strong hands, bringing it close to her ear.

"Do anything that Diana doesn't like at all, and I swear…" She gripped Ren's ear a bit tighter, drawing a very thin line of blood where her thumb nail bore into his cartilage. "you'll be skewered, barbequed then left for the Mountain Lions to eat." He shivered slightly. Knowing full-well that she was capable of doing such a thing like that. And not even getting arrested for it.

He was let go of the restraining grip, and was roughly shoved by the same hand. Ren made his way back to the temporary home before high-tide came in fully, grumbling and thinking about everything that has been happening lately.

30 minutes later he had finally arrived back to the boarding house, still thinking.

"Ah, Ren!" Yoh cheerfully called to his friend from the living room. "Did you find Elen?"

"Hmph. Yeah, and Hao decided to join her." He replied simply.

"What was going on?" Anna asked in a monotonous voice.

"Apparently she was kidnapped by a photographer and is now an up-and-coming model." Ren waved off.

"Whoa. Who would've thought." Horo Horo went.

"I haven't heard of any photo shoots since I lived in New York." Chocolove stated.

Ren heard the voices of the house occupants dim as he made his way upstairs. His thoughts returning to the younger twin of the Yin-Yang twins.

"Ah, Ren-kun!" A sweet voice called out, breaking his thoughts.

Well speak of the Devil. Or in this case…

Speak of the Angel.

The light was a bit dim, but made her short gold hair glow softly as if it were a halo, even with her white headband in it. It only emphasized as she was wearing a white blouse and a knee-length skirt of a very soft pink, with white 1 in. Mary Janes on her feet. Her smile sweet and kind and her eyes shined like the emeralds they mimicked to a T.

He really wouldn't be too surprised if there were wings folded behind her back.

"Did you find Elen?" Diana asked curiously.

Without really thinking, Ren grabbed the girl across from him, and pushed her not-too-roughly to the wall.

"Ren-kun, what are you do-" He silenced her with his mouth on her own, his eyes closed as if he was enjoying the epitome of pleasure.

At that point, he probably was.

He pulled away, looking a bit embarrassed, but assured of his actions. But that didn't stop a blush forming on his face.

"Ren-kun?"

"Sorry about that." He took his hands off of Diana's shoulders, letting them go limp at his sides, and turned away from her. But before he could walk away, his left cheek was greeted by a soft right hand, and even softer lips on his own.

Diana was shorter than Ren by 2 inches at the moment, since when she usually wears her boots she's the same height, so she had to stand on her toes a bit to reach him. Her eyes were closed, enjoying the moment. He broke out of his shock, and his eyes fluttered shut as well. His arms moving to wrap themselves across her back, deepening the kiss. When they decided that they needed oxygen, they pulled away. The blonde had a very calm and loving look in her eyes, though she had a little tough-girl pout and her cheek were red, that made her all the more cute.

"Heh. I guess that means that you like me too?" Ren asked, a smirk taking over his lips. The pout disappeared from Diana's face, but her cheeks became even redder as she nodded in reply. "Good." He leaned down, and captured her lips once more.

####################**************************************####################

Elen stepped out of the changing booth once more in an entirely different outfit than the one before. This time, it was a little black gown-like dress. There were slightly transparent black sleeves covering her arms, and the torso was tightly constrained in the smooth black fabric. The skirt flared a bit, thanks to some mesh cloth underneath. The skirt covering was embroiderd with paste crystals that still shined in the now indoor lighting. On Elen's feet were strapped 3 in. heels, and all her nails were done in a deep midnight blue shade. Her hair was tied up into a high-ponytail, and there were beads of dark purples blues and greens braided into her loose hair, which was fluffed a bit. On her left wrist was a silver bracelet, with a Native American looking eagle with a rectangle turquoise on its back, and Native American marks stretching around the metal.

"Elen, you look like a princess on her way to the ball." Ms. O'Reily gushed out, her green eyes shining like stars.

_'Then how come I feel like the ugly stepsister trying too hard to impress the prince?'_ Elen found herself asking.

"Is this on right?" A masculine voice asked the two girls. A heat started to form on the water-shaman's face, just looking at him.

Hao was dressed up in a simple black tuxedo. But the dress shirt was a deep scarlet color, and he had a tie instead of a bow. His long wood-colored hair was tied at the nape with a red ribbon in a knot, making sure that the strands won't get in the way of dancing with his Lady of the Evening.

But what really gotten to Elen was how mature he looked. Hao looked like he was in his twenties wearing that tux. He looked so…experienced, and all-knowing.

Haha, irony.

"Oh! That looks WONDERFUL on you Hao!" Ms. O'Riley squealed. "So DASHING. Don't you agree Elen?" The 14-year-old in question snapped out of her thoughts of Hao, and she stubbornly turned her head away from the two. Her cheeks were red from embarrassment.

"Y-yeah. He looks pretty good." She replied. Hao smirked in a kind of sexy fashion, making the young teen girl's face a few more shades red, and her knees a bit weak. _'DAMN IT! This is stupid! He's a FRIEND! I shouldn't be so embarrassed!'_ Her mind argued as she stalked away.

"Wonderful!" The photographer howled in pleasure as she walked around ordering her workers on a specific scene she wanted for this particular shot. "OK PEOPLE! LET'S START WITH THE DIM LIGHTING!"

Hao made his way to a now sitting Elen by the black and red curtain-ed windows. She just played with one of the paste crystals on her skirt, just trying not to think of anything. Though the Spirit of Fire user would never be able to tell what she was actually contemplating. The brunette boy sat in the empty chair to the left of her own, just sitting there, not enjoying the silence all that much.

"So how come they're calling you 'Ms. Makuro'?" Hao asked, cutting the silence between them. The girl next to him sighed in exasperation.

"Well…" She started in thought, trying to come up with a good explanation. She looked up towards the ceiling, now being decorated by little sphere paper lanterns on long strings, the lights only about 3 feet away from the ground. "When I was changing in the previous outfit…"

_"Hey, did you hear about these McDonell sisters?" A female's voice asked another._

_"Yeah. The ones who were beaten and neglected by their drunken druggie mother right?" Another female voice sounded._

_"Apparently, their mother admitted to her crimes without the need for a trial!" #1 told the other._

_"Really?" #2 asked, astonished._

_"Yeah. Apparently, she doesn't even care if she's put on death row. This seems very likely to happen."_

_"Why's that?"_

_"She said that because her husband's dead, she doesn't really have much of a reason to live."_

_Elen's face turned down-casted when she heard this. She always knew that her mother never really cared for her or her sister, but it hurt to hear it._

_"You know, I hear that the Social Service people are looking for the sisters now to put them in an orphanage."#2 informed the other. Elen's head snapped up from her thoughts to what the girl just said._

_No way in hell were those bastards about to separate them right now._

_"Hey." A more mature woman's voice called from right outside the dressing booth. "We're gonna need your name." She needed to think of a good fake name. If not, then they might take her and the other two away._

_"Elen Makuro." Was the first thing that popped into her head._

"I see." Hao commented after the story was done. "You did it to protect your sisters."

"There was no fuckin' way that Social Workers were gonna separate us right now. Not during the Shaman Fight." Elen replied stubbornly. "Imagine if ya'll were in the same situation with Yoh-san. Ya probably would 'a done the same thing." She was answered with an understanding smile from her friend.

"Elen, Hao, it's time to shoot the scene!" The red-head called out.

"Coming!" Hao called out as well to the photographer. However, he didn't hear the distinct sound of high-heels clinking on the wooden floor, and looked back. His companion for many weeks now seemed to be glued to her seat by the window, and refused to make any effort at all to move. The boy just smiled at her little reluctance, and stretched out his left hand, making in known in her line of vision. "Aren't you coming?" He asked softly, delicately.

Elen looked at the rarely-bared hand offered to her, and then back to Hao. His smile was soft, consoling, and if she didn't know any better, sympathetic. She didn't say a word, but simply took his hand in her right, just now thinking that they fit together very well as they maneuvered through the hanging glowing paper lanterns.

Ms. O'Reily just watched them through the corners of her eyes, a smirk playing on her lips.

"Now you two, I want you to hold eachother like you're about to waltz." She commanded the two teens when they came to the little clearing of the lights. She was just met with the two looking at her in question. "Have you ever done a waltz before?" She asked.

"I'm more ballet."

"I've never even heard the word."

The green-eyed photographer just sighed in exasperation at the clueless-ness of the 14-year-olds. "OK, Hao." She pointed to him. "You take Elen's right hand in your left, like this." Ms. O'Reily lifted the pyro-shaman's left, and placed the right hand of Elen onto the palm, right between the thumb and the index finger, her own thumb on the other side of his. "Then Elen, you place your left hand on his shoulder…" The older woman place the aqua-shaman's aforementioned hand onto the black tuxedo-ed shoulder. "then you, Hao, place your free hand on her waist. Now stay like this, and keep your eyes on eachothers'." She backed off a bit, taking the camera around her neck and raising it to her eyes.

Her heart felt like it was going to break a few of her ribs, and she really didn't know why. She felt like she was going to get trapped into the brown irises that were being shined by the dim lights. His slight smile looked so much more caring and warm than any other smile he gave her. She absentmindedly wondered if her heart beat was being felt by Hao, thanks to how close he was holding her.

_'Dim lights dim lights dim lights dim lights it's just the fuckin' dim lights DAMMIT!'_

"OK, now I want something a little sexy." The older woman commanded with a smirk, earning an even more red-faced Elen.

Hao, on the other hand, was simply calm as he spun the girl around and wrapped his strong arms around her waist. After he had just simply rested his head on her shoulder, Elen instinctively brought her right hand up, cupping her companion's head.

"Like this?" He asked. He as answered with the flashes of the camera, approving of the position they were both in.

"You two are naturals!" The flashes stopped, and Ms. O'Reily got a certain gleam in her eyes, contemplating whether or not to get them in another position. Discarding the idea, she just let the camera fall around her neck, and told everyone that they were done for the day.

Finally free of his grasp, Elen sighed in relief at the end.

"You two can keep the clothes you've modeled as payment. Thanks for filling in!"

"No problem." Hao replied.

"Lovely, just lovely." Elen said, almost sarcastically.

"Can we get donuts now?"

####################**************************************####################

Hey guys! I'm back! And outta Freshman year! WOOHOO! Only three more years until I'm outta high school forever.

Sorry it's took so long. I had finals, and I was so sick I couldn't go to school for Dead Week. (That's the second-to-last week of school, where there's no homework, just study sessions for finals.) Plus, I missed the last choir concert of the year! T_T Oh, and if anyone hasn't gone to a Fray concert, ya better! It was on the first day of summer vacation for me, and it was AWESOME! My first adult concert that I went alone.

And now I have to find a summer job. I gotta save up if I wanna move to NYC after high school.

So anyway, no Q&A today, so I'll just do a little OMAKE. Enjoy!

OMAKE~Their spirit's

"Oi." Tokagero called.

"Nani, Tokagero?" Amidamaru answered.

"Haven't you noticed what little roles we play in this story?"

"The authoress is forgetful." Mosuke explained. "Besides, would we really understand going on?"

"Even in the anime, we had a bigger part than this story." Bason stated.

"Ku ku ku!" Kororo nodded in agreement.

"Grr grr grr." Mic growled, trying to write a letter. However, it just got shredded. Morphine just looking at it curiously.

"I'm sure that Hoshi wo Tsuki has her reasons." Pai Long told the others. "Just look at the things she's written before and after the chapters. With the things going on, could she really think about it?"

"True." Mosuke agreed.

"But I still think it's unfair." The Lizard Man mumbled. "I mean, we're the Mochire of the shamans here, and we've barely gotten any lines!"

"Ku ku ku!"

Sorry guys! I'm not that good with a lot of people in one story. I'm better at just a few characters at a time. That's why I'm more focused of Hao Ren Elen and Diana!

So anyway, please read, review, send ideas, questions and to friends.

BYE BYE!


	10. Chapter 10 Precious memories

Disclaimer: I don't own the title, "Shaman King," nor am I with any manga/anime companies in anyway. Though I do own a couple characters. All characters I didn't make go to their respected owner, Takei Hiroyki-sensei.

Enjoy!

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"That was the most EMBARRASSING thing that's ever happened to me in my entire life!" Elen exclaimed while storming into the boarding house. She now sported her original exercise clothing, with her hair and face free of anything categorized as 'Salon treated' or 'Fashionable.' In her hands, she had a shopping bag full of the clothes she had modeled -shoes and accessories included, making her feel like a doll- and her tennis shoes in the other.

"Looks like they're back." Anna stated monotonously.

"Hey, those donuts were good." Came Hao's voice. "So what if I wolfed them all down?"

"WOLF-ed them down!" The Jaguar Shaman had, in a blink of an eye (How in God's name can he change outfits so fast?) changed into a fur outfit that made him look very much like a Grey Wolf, and had his front "paws" on the very much annoyed male Ainu's head. However, in another blink of an eye, he was knocked onto the floor by a well-placed pair of dirty tennis shoes tied together at the laces before he could be burned alive.

"SHUT IT, BAKA-LOVE!" The irate blonde water Shaman screamed. She turned her deadly bone-chilling glare towards her fighting partner, almost sending a shiver of fear down his spine. "And I AIN'T talkin' about the damn donuts, ya brainless fool!"

Putting aside the 'brainless fool' insult thrown at him, (just because it's her) the reason why she was so made had finally dawned on Hao. "Oh, you mean the modeling job?" He asked.

_'My God. He may be the Spirit of Fire's Shaman, but he ain't all that bright.'_

"Oh, how'd that go Elen?" Pikira asked, excited to hear about it.

"If ya want my honest opinion, it was TORTURE!" She turned her head towards her male friend, her glare still present. "And that's comin' from me."

"How was it torture?" Jun asked. "Getting to wear such pretty outfits and getting your picture taken in them before anyone else? It's sounds nice to me." She told her.

"For one, the clothes showed more skin than I thought was necessary, the positions I was in felt way too uncomfortable for my taste, and on top of all that, I was paid in the clothes I wore." She held up the shopping bag, almost to try to make her point across. The males of the room started to let their minds wander, thinking they had an idea for what she was talking about. (Except for Faust and Yoh because of their girls along with the ghosts, and Marco was fiercely trying to keep the images down.) "When am I gonna be wearin' these things anyway?"

Hao smirked at all the thoughts of the teens in the room, and leaned to Elen's ear, whispering something.

"Huh? What's lingerie?" She asked quietly. The fire Shaman started whispering into her ear again, explaining what it was while her face practically caught of fire. Her fisted hand around the shopping bag trembled in agitation and humiliation at what they were thinking. She brought her hand back... "You..." and let the bag fly into the nearest boy's head it could find, knocking him down to the floor. "WEIRD-OS!" Unfortunately, that poor teen was Lyserg. The hapless green-haired male sat up from the impact, rubbing his nose and causing the bag to fall to the ground beside him.

"That hurt." He stated. The contents of the bag had spilled out in the process, revealing the dress she had worn for the pictures with Hao. Pirika picked it up, and started squealing at the sight of it.

"OH, MY GOD! THIS IS WHAT YOU WORE!?" She asked excitedly.

"It's very pretty." Tamao commented.

"It looks to be my size." Anna commented, looking more closely at it.

"Oh, and what about this nice corset?" Jun gushed out. "The materials look so fine."

"It's so smooth." Jeanne admired, running her hand down the length. "Like silk. These will be very expensive when they go out in stores."

"Want 'em, ya'll can keep 'em." She said with contempt for the pieces of fabric in the other girls hands. She turned on her heel, and went up the stairs. "I have no use for 'em. Ain't like I'm goin' somewhere formal or nothin'." And she disappeared.

"Is it safe to come out?" The pompadour poked out from the dining room, searching for any signs of the annoyed girl.

"She's gone Ryu-san." Manta called. Ryu slumped into the living room, relieved to know that Elen's presence had disappeared from the room.

"That's good. Our fight's this evening, and I didn't want to be slaughtered by her before-hand AND PUT ME OUT!" He screamed, running around like a head-less chicken with his hair on fire.

"So you're scared of Elen destroying you, but not me?" Hao asked, hurt from what he heard.

"Kororo! Put out the flame!" Horo commanded, holding his Ikupasui stick. With a 'ku ku ku' in agreement, she blew ice on the heat ontop of Ryus' hair, and effectively halting the taller boy's run.

"Hee Hee Hee. You're not the same as you were last year." Yoh told his twin. At his questioning stare, he explained what he meant. "Ryu said he was more scared of Elen than you, because he knew that you had changed since we saw you last. If you were the same Hao from before, you would've tried to kill him in order to keep your position as top dog." He flashed to longer-haired boy one of his lazy grins. "But you only just singed his hair. You're more friendly than you were. It's nice."

Hao looked amazed at this revelation. It was true. Usually he wouldn't have done all of the things he did with these guys. Like eat with them, hang out with them, talk about things with them that wasn't about Shamans. Now that he thought about it, he felt...almost normal with these guys. Almost like they were real...friends.

"You realize I'm still planning on killing all humans, right?"

"Hee, wouldn't have it any other way Nii-chan."

"NII-?!"

***************##***************

Elen marched down the hallway on the way to her room, not even sparing a glance at her sister and Ren still glued together at the lips and unaware of her presence as she stalked her way down. Finally reaching her door, she yanked open the wooden entrance and slammed it behind her in her rage, and quite possibly alerting the new couple of what just passed them.

Elen threw herself face-down on the soft dark blue comforter of her bed, the best one she's had since forever, and just laid there. Uncaring of the world around her at the moment. After all, Alexa was somehow still asleep in her crib, Diana was probably still sucking face with the Tao heir and her match wasn't for another few hours. What else was there for her to do?

Really, nothing but to just take a nap so her energy level was at maximum for her fight. Getting pissed at those guys actually tired her out quite a bit.

***************##***************

He tip-toed carefully into her room, cautious not to wake her in fear of incurring her wrath again. He didn't want to be on the receiving end of her abuse and get beaten up before the match even started tonight.

Gently placing a bag at the foot of her bed, he heard the tell-tale sound of Alexa awake and asking to be picked up. Smiling down at the teen peacefully sleeping on her bed, he moved to the wooden crib Silva made and saw the brunette infant smiling her gummy smile to the boy above her as he picked her up. The infant reached for the boy's long brown bangs, pulling them with as much strength as a child could and making him squeak in audible pain. He looked towards the bed when he heard the shifting of fabric, and was relieved when he saw that the blonde was only shifting in her sleep.

After propping Alexa on his hip, he moved silently to the oak wardrobe and opened up it's cabinet, cringing a bit at the very slight screech that came with the old hinges of the door. On the floor of the piece of furniture was Elen's neatly folded battle outfit. Similar to Diana's, it had a Chinese-style neckline that would reach up to her throat, a sash that had a yin-yang pin on it, with a skirt that would reach to her mid-thighs with a slit and the sleeves that would reach down her arms and wrap around her middle finger. Gathering up the dress in his free hand, he closed the cabinet door and stalked out of the room, determined to let Elen sleep for a few more minutes before letting everything go to hell.

***************##***************

"Elen wants what I wanted, you know." Diana said to her friend-turned-boyfriend. "To erase my memories and take all the burden for herself."

"I know." The gold-eyed youth replied. Short blonde hair tickled Ren's face as she settled her head on his strong shoulder, green eyes looking at nothing across from her place next to him on her bed. His own settled down on top of hers, not minding that her white headband was hard against him as he got comfortable, draping an arm around her shoulders. "But she'd be up against Hao when she gets to the final fight." Ren told her with just a little bit of hope in his voice. "You and Elen have basically no control over your Furyoku when fighting, which is why I was able to defeat you. Not that Hao killing humans is a better alternative."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, reveling in the calm before the inevitable storm.

"But on the off chance that Elen _does_ win-"

"Diana-"

"I want to be able to have these nice memories." She finished, closing her eyes with a slight smile. "I want to be able to enjoy this happiness I have with you. And I want you to find your own happiness after that."

The Tao knew that he couldn't argue with her on this. She was right, after all. The only thing that they can do right now is to make fond memories while they still have the time for it. But that doesn't mean...

"That doesn't mean I still won't fight." Ren said softly with determination heavy in his voice. Diana felt his conviction running through him, and smiled a bit more.

"Thank you, Ren-kun."

_'For everything.'_

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"WHAT THE FUCKIN' HELL IS THIS!?"

***************##***************

Kill me kill me kill me kill me kill me kill me kill me kill me kill me

JUST KILL ME ALREADY!

I haven't updated this story in over a year! I don't deserve to be on this archive!

But I guess I can chalk it up to having writer's block and my beta not getting back to me. Oh, and...

I GOT MY FIRST FLAME! SO THAT REALLY MADE IT HARD TO CONTINUE! NOBODY CALLS _ME_ A BITCH OR MY OC'S MARY-SUES AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!

Ah...

Sorry. I just needed to get that outta my system. In any case, I'm sorry for the horrible delay, and any disappointments ya'll might have. There was a TON of fluff in this chapter and I'm hoping if my writing skills will allow me, that Elen and Hao's fight with Ryu and Faust will be next chapter!

Oh, one more thing. I NEVER flame! I give out constructive criticism to help people improve on their writing or whatever, so I would like it if everyone would extend to me the same curtesy. If there's somthin' anyone doesn't like, I would like to know so that I can get better. Thank you very much.

Oh, and I hope ya'll liked that little reference to the last manga chapter I threw in there. I thought it was about time for it.

As always, please read, review, send ideas and send to friends.

See ya'll next time!


	11. ATTENTION!

I will be re-writing and editing my stories, "The Shaman Fight Continues" and "The Shaman Fight: Start".

I'm really unhappy with how I wrote both of them, and as a writer I won't tolerate it! Plus, I this that some are also starting on "The Shaman Fight: Start" rather than the first one and that bothers me.

I hope you guys with bear with me a little longer. I just want to be the best writer that I can be.

Thank you very much!

~Hoshi wo Tsuki


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